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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23692408">Dormata</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/samsg1/pseuds/samsg1'>samsg1</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Stargate SG-1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Comfort/Angst, Episode: s07e22 Lost City Part 2, Episode: s08e01-02 New Order, F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:41:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,741</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23692408</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/samsg1/pseuds/samsg1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>One-shot on Sam's thoughts on having to leave frozen Jack behind in Antarctica. Continuing on from the final scene of Season 7 beginning with the destruction of Anubis' fleet.</p><p>UPDATE: Now with epilogue!</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Samantha "Sam" Carter/Jack O'Neill</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>45</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Dormata</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A/N: For the purpose of this story I've assumed that Pete doesn't exist, or if he does, his relationship with Sam is still super new and doesn't enter into her mind.</p><p>Huge shout-out to tinknevertalks for beta-ing this fic!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Thousands of bright yellow, I don't know. They're coming from the surface. I don't know what they are. They're cutting the enemy fleet to shreds. My God it’s beautiful!”</p><p>The pilot’s static voice blasted through their radios, echoing around the icy chamber. Sam looked at her teammates with a grin and felt a rush of pride towards the Colonel for succeeding! His plan had worked, the risk he’d taken downloading the knowledge had paid off! They’d won! Anubis’ fleet was defeated! Earth was saved thanks to him!</p><p>Elated, Sam turned to congratulate their hero, but was stricken as she saw his head roll to the side, unconscious, and the chair power down.</p><p>“Sir?”</p><p>She raced to him to check for his pulse on his neck, as her teammates hung back giving them space.</p><p>“His pulse is erratic,” she called to her friends, doing all she could to hide the fear and panic surging through her veins from her voice.</p><p>“Don’t you dare leave us now,” she said in her best authoritative voice, as if she could will him to live. “We won.”</p><p>Receiving no response, she cried, “Colonel!” and cupped his face, drawing his profile to meet her own.</p><p>Her palm on his cheek barely registered any warmth- their cold surroundings notwithstanding; he was clammy and unresponsive to her touch. She ran her thumb over his chin tenderly, and with a leap of her heart she saw him open his eyes ever so slightly, and motion his lips in what appeared to be a huge effort to attempt to speak. To her despair she watched as he couldn’t seem to summon sufficient energy to voice what might be his final words to her.</p><p>“Please, Jack,” she whispered in a desperate plea for him to hang on long enough for some miracle, or perhaps some key knowledge he had that would save himself. This was Atlantis, the city of the Ancients! There <i>had</i> to be a way!</p><p>After what seemed like an eternity gazing at his face, silently willing him to speak, he managed to utter a single word. “Dormata.” His voice was so quiet she’d had to lean forward to catch it.</p><p>“That thing.”</p><p>Daniel’s voice cut into the moment. Sam had barely even remembered that Daniel was still there. Her mind put the pieces together and recalled the alcove that the Colonel had drawn their attention to upon their arrival. Back into action mode, she abruptly moved aside to allow Teal’c to pick up the Colonel’s almost lifeless body. Sam barely registered the dead Anubis drones they passed on the cold ground. As she watched Teal’c carry the Colonel she wished that she could be the one supporting him, hugging him almost, while bringing him to his aid. Could this alcove be some sort of Ancient sarcophagus? They had learned that the Ancients had designed the technology not six months prior, Atlantis would surely have some sort of medical bay.</p><p>Daring to hope, and praying the device would even be functional, she asked, “Now what?”</p><p>Her heart leapt as the Colonel had recovered some strength to support himself standing, and had the ability to reply. Was he about to heal himself?</p><p>“Aveo amacuse.”</p><p>Her eyes quickly darted to Daniel for the translation, but was crestfallen by his expression. She knew her friend so well. She could read the answer in his face before his reply.</p><p>“Goodbye.”</p><p>‘No!’ her mind screamed. ‘No! This can’t be it!'</p><p>Tears welled in her eyes as the alcove glowed and the Colonel’s body was slowly encased in glass? Ice? Did it matter?</p><p>“We can't just leave him like this!” she shouted desperately. Daniel was in Atlantis, he must be able to figure something out! They were SG-1, they always solved problems and got home safely, that was just what they did! “There has to be a way to reverse the process,” she said to Daniel, willing him to initiate his archeologist mode and seek out an answer. “The answer has to be here somewhere.”</p><p>‘There has to be some kind of Ancient library here,’ she thought to herself. Her mind quickly conjured images of the city bustling with research teams and equipment; eager scientists all working excitedly together to unlock the secrets of the city and save the Colonel, trapped in what she supposed was a stasis pod.</p><p>“I don't think this is it, Sam,” Daniel answered quietly, shattering her vision. He seemed hesitant to continue, as though he feared causing her pain.</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>She watched as he looked around at their surroundings, confirming something to himself.</p><p>“The dome is too small. It's Taonas.” Her insides tightened as Daniel delivered this bombshell. Hope began to drain out of her soul into the icy floor. “It's obviously not a city; it's just an outpost of some kind.”</p><p>She knew he was right but she couldn’t face accepting the truth. That would mean admitting that the Colonel would be staying here, indefinitely.</p><p>A panic crept over her urging her to race around the bare, icy corridors looking for evidence of a huge city to prove him wrong. But as her calf muscles tensed in readiness, she recalled the scans back on the cargo ship that had already betrayed the limited extent of the structure. Feet still rooted to the spot, her eyes swiveled around wildly trying to come up with a plan of action and froze as they caught the Colonel’s glass eyes, staring at her. Her heart lurched as she realized he had been looking directly at her in his last moments. She felt her heart pound as she took in his gaze. His eyes were usually so guarded with years of service, black ops, and a lifetime of suffering, but not now. She was stunned to see that his expression was so <i>naked</i>. His eyes drew her to him and, cursing that it took him being frozen on the brink of death to be allowed such uninhibited access to his profile, she stepped forward to take him in. She studied every line and scar etched on his face. Every fine eyelash; each of his dark irises flecked with golden brown; the strands of grey brushing his forehead. His expression was all she could see and it seemed to pierce her body, reaching every fiber of her being. She could see that his eyes were pained with sorrow and perhaps, remorse. Remorse at dying?</p><p>
  <i>’That…would be worth it.’</i>
</p><p>She recalled his words in his living room before Daniel and Teal’c had interrupted them. He had already stated that he was ready to sacrifice his life for the planet. Therefore the anguish and pain displayed on his face gazing at her.. could it be for <i>her<i>? That he felt just as she did, that while, yes, he was ready to give up his life for the planet, there may be something more that he <i>wasn’t</i> prepared to give up.</i></i></p><p>
  <i>'I know.’</i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>She wished so badly that she had pressed her confession further back in the cargo ship engine room before they’d reached Taonas. He’d cut her off and she’d felt disheartened and thought it was because he didn’t feel the same, but now she hypothesized that perhaps it had been that it was too painful for him to admit that he did in fact feel the same, when his life was already forfeit.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
      <i>'I’ll make it easy for you. I resign.’</i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Damn she wished she’d just kissed him then. Or just outright told him her feelings, regs be damned. And now he was encased in a frozen coffin at the bottom of the world and she’d never have the chance again. The sense of loss was utterly overwhelming. Desperately wanting any form of contact from him, she couldn’t help but reach out a hand to touch the cold glass. Despair erupted from a pit in her stomach. She was engulfed in misery and as she felt the burning of her eyes welling once again, this time she couldn’t prevent tears cascading from them. Her shoulders hunched forward and she stared at the ground as she tried futilely to hold back the gasping sobs that were billowing from her.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
    A warm weight came to rest on her right shoulder. She glanced to her side to see Teal'c's strong presence offering her comfort.
</p><p>
  Suddenly a Texan voice bellowed through their radios, startling her.
    “SG-1, this is Hammond, come in.”
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>She couldn’t face it. She just couldn’t be the one to report that the Colonel was lost to them. To put it into words would be to make it true. Regardless, she didn’t even think her throat could form any words right now. She could barely even breathe.<br/>
Head still hanging down in despair, she shook it to signal to her team members that she was unable to answer the radio call. It was Daniel who took over.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“General Hammond, this is Daniel.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>She couldn’t listen to Daniel filling in Hammond on the events. She couldn’t bear to listen to the General's congratulations. She simply allowed Teal’c to turn her around and stretch out his bear-like arms and buried herself into his comforting embrace as she had done so last year in the locker room. He said nothing but his action was all that needed to be spoken. On and on she sobbed into the crux of his strong arms.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>If Daniel had been surprised by his comrades’ embrace when he returned he didn’t show it.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Guys, General Hammond says the injured are heading to McMurdo. The remaining fighters are returning to Nevada.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Daniel said something about the Prometheus’ shields having failed but Sam just didn’t care. Nothing mattered. She barely cared that they had won; how could it possibly be winning when they had lost Colonel O’Neill?</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Finally leaving Teal’c’s arms, she swallowed and managed to speak. “I can’t leave him here.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I know, Sam-” Daniel started before the radio erupted into life again.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Teal’c it is I, Bra’tac.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“It is good to hear your voice, old friend,” Teal’c answered promptly. “Are you well?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Indeed I am. I was able to maneuver to safety as the Tau’ri vessel arrived. Anubis’ fleet has been defeated.” Sam felt that the glee in Bra’tac’s voice was most unwelcome, but reminded herself that he didn’t yet know the great cost at which the victory had come.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Indeed,” replied Teal’c.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I am almost in position to ring you aboard. Are you prepared?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>‘No!’ thought Sam. She wasn’t ready to leave. Couldn’t. What if the power failed and what little life the Colonel had left in him in this frozen state was snuffed out in an instant? She wanted to stay for as long as it took to get an expedition team here.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Sam...” Daniel began.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I don’t care if I freeze here too, I can’t leave him here like this.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Daniel picked up his radio.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Bra’tac, it’s Daniel. Can you give us a minute?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Very well,” came the man’s reply.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>A pause followed, then Daniel inquired, “Is it me or is it getting colder?”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Sam wouldn’t have even noticed her body chilling if it were; her heart was already frozen. It was Teal’c who attempted to answer Daniel’s observation.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Perhaps with the Ancient chair disused the environmental controls have ceased,” he postulated. Sam felt as though her entire being had ceased.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Sam, we’ll be back for him, but our first priority is getting out of here-“</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“We don’t leave our people behind!” Her shout rang through the frozen structure.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“I know, Sam--”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“The whole Stargate program is being shut down, you heard the General!” She could hear the hostility in her voice but didn’t seem to be able to stop herself from shouting. “We have no idea if we even have a job to go back to let alone think about planning a rescue mission back here!”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“Major Carter,” Teal’c started calmly, and Sam felt a little tension leave her body. His voice had always managed to calm aggression in the rest of his team mates. “We shall inform the new administration of Colonel O’Neill’s predicament. We shall continue to endeavor to contact the Asgard.” Sam stared at him. How could he always keep such a cool head at times like these?</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>“When we are successful,” he continued, “they shall be able to heal his mind and body and return him to us. I am certain of this.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>The confidence and clarity of his words seemed to reach the logical part of her brain and she felt a little like herself again. A slight amount of hope trickled back into her mind, despair and anger beginning to abate. She had Daniel and Teal’c, and even if he was being retired General Hammond certainly wouldn’t let the Colonel rot in Antarctica for eternity.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>Taking a deep breath, military mask back on, Sam looked towards Teal’c and Daniel and said, “We better get to the rings, then.”</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>As she stood waiting for Bra’tac’s extraction on the Ancient platform she gave the Colonel’s form one last look.</i>
  </i>
</p><p>
  <i>
    <i>‘I don’t care if I have to blackmail the new establishment. I don’t care if I have to face a court martial for commandeering the gate to get help. I’m coming back for you, Sir. That’s a promise.’</i>
  </i>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Dessert</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>This story was originally a one-shot but this epilogue came into my mind and demanded to be written. Another shout-out to tinknevertalks for humouring me and betaing this story addition.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm taking some liberties with the amount of time that has passed between the end of Season 7 and Sam and Teal'c's mission in New Order pt1. I've gone for 7 weeks but it could have been less or more.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <b>[Five weeks later]</b>
</p><p>For the first time in years, with gate travel suspended,  Sam’s life had sunk into a routine. And she hated it. The only thing unpredictable in her life now was the not knowing whether she would ever go back through the gate, or whether she would ever see the Colonel again. Pouring through old test results in her lab, the rumble of her stomach informed her of the need to replenish her energy. Deciding she needed more coffee anyway, she headed to the commissary for lunch? Dinner? Did it matter? The Colonel had never seemed to follow the clock when deciding to eat. Damn, she’d thought about him again.</p><p>Pick up tray. Choose main. Scoop side veg. Absolutely, definitely don’t look towards the dessert corner. Pick up cutlery. Sit at table with back to said dessert corner. Chew and swallow. Rinse and repeat. Her taste buds barely even registered the food; when had everything become so bland? Staring at the walls trying not to allow her thoughts to stray to the man frozen so far away, she noticed for the first time how dull the concrete walls were.</p><p>Talks regarding how to proceed with the Antarctic outpost’s study were stalled. Her life felt as frozen as the icy continent; work, eat, sleep, repeat.</p><p>
  <b>[Seven weeks later]</b>
</p><p>Sam was heading to the commissary. Today would be different. Swiping a handful of sandwiches on her tray (and making sure to pinch plenty of turkey-filled ones), for the first time in almost two months she permitted her eyes to gaze upon the desserts. Hordes of cake slices. Piles of pies. A mound of tarts. Until today their promise of sweetness could only have left a bitter taste in her throat. Spying her favourite blue Jell-o, she placed it next to the sandwiches, and for the first time in weeks selected a spoon before sitting down. Today she would permit herself to partake in dessert: <i>his</i> favourite meal. The forbidden after course. These would be her final hours in this stunted life. Either she would not be returning at all from this one-way mission, or the next time she entered the commissary it would be with the Colonel.</p><p>Savouring the last of the gelatinous treat, she returned the tray and left with an armful of sandwiches, returning to her lab to grab the remaining essentials for the trip. After sending an email to Cassie letting her know she’d be gone for a while, and getting good lucks and hugs from Daniel, she headed to the locker room to get ready before rendezvousing with Teal'c; each snap and buckle as she geared up bringing her closer to feeling herself again.</p><p>
  <b>[Seven weeks and ten days later]</b>
</p><p>As the rear hull of the cargo ship was torn asunder, the astrophysicist part of her brain couldn’t help but marvel at the impossible opportunity to glimpse a black hole singularity with naked eyes. She calculated she could have but seconds to live. For all its ferociousness, the donut-shaped accretion disc was stunning. <i>Donut</i> her heart panged. And as it gave what would be its final beat, her mind turned to him. “Jack.”</p><p>*<b>Beam</b>*</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you ever so much for reading! Comments and feedback encourage me to write more :D</p></blockquote></div></div>
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